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Published On: August 5, 2017 12:55 PM NPT By: Republica

MOMS ARE NOT THAT DIFFERENT

MOMS ARE NOT THAT DIFFERENT

If you’re a ‘90s kid, growing up probably might have been about your mother ranting dialogues like “Why are the kids of today’s generation always stuck on their mobiles?” “Just keep playing games all day, what is so productive about these games?” And as parents failed to understand your fascination over the games or the gadgets, most probably your answer to your parents was, “You wouldn’t understand.” 

But the tables have turned now. Older generation, and mothers in particular, have been more active in playing mobile games than ever before. The same mother who used to ask, ‘Why are you playing games?” now asks, “How do you play this game?” 

Well, it’s not that moms playing games is wrong, but because they were playing games, children have witnessed moms forgetting to turn off gases or getting distracted more than before. You must have too. 

“I once walked into the kitchen to find milk spilt all over the floor. And, I found my mom hooked onto the tablet playing Candy Crush. She was so focused on making a combo that she didn’t even notice that the milk had spilt,” shared a sixth grader, Arun Shrestha.

Well it isn’t just the children’s perspective, but even moms feel they have grown interest for mobile games lately. 

Aquila Shrestha, a mother of two, confessed that she enjoys playing games on her phone. “I have a few games in my phone. I play Candy Crush, Farmville and the games on Facebook Messenger. After all, I work hard all day and it’s a nice escape from my usual office and household duties. Everybody needs some time for themselves.”

However, she has found herself in few situations when her two kids bang utensils in the kitchen and seemingly pick a fight with each other to get her attention whenever she is playing games with full concentration. This, she thinks, is rather annoying on her children's part. 

Games are not just for fun, they develop a sense of competition too. If two people are playing a game, sub-consciously, you will keep scores and try to score more than the other. Well, moms are also not spared of the competitive feeling. 

“I’m usually busy with my work nowadays so I don’t get much time to go around playing games on my phones. Last weekend, I was playing the saga games and I was shocked to find my mom had led the scoreboard in one level and she was 10 levels ahead of me,” shared Pooja Byanju, a 25-year-old banker.

One might think that this tendency is more common among young mothers. But, hold on, there’s more to the picture. Arina Arjyan shared that her 70-year-old mother is addicted to the mobile phone. 

"What's annoying about my mother’s mobile addiction is that she holds a remote on one hand and her phone on the other, and uses them simultaneously." Arina added, "She gets annoyed when I play a video on the background or change channels, as if she was concentrating on both devices at the same time!" 

Adding further, Arina said she regrets the day she taught her mother to Google stuff online and download games. "I downloaded YouTube for her and now she can't seem to stop watching Pakistani series." To make matters worse, Arina said she has to face her father's scolding, who often complains that the mother has taken after the daughter, in terms of mobile addiction. 

Just like Arina’s mother, who enjoys multitasking, 24-year-old accountant Sajan Rana also shared his observation about his mother. “When I was in school, I didn’t or couldn’t concentrate on my studies. I would either be hooked to TV or would be playing games on my gaming console with books open in front of me. My mother used to scold me for trying to multitask and wasting my energy. A week ago, when I came back home from office, I found my mom playing games on her phone with the TV on. When I changed the channel to watch football, she scolded me for changing the channel because apparently she was watching her favorite serial.”

Similarly, there are other mothers in our society that seem smitten by social media. Chatting, phone and video calls, Viber and Instagram are also a few other things that moms love to do nowadays. 

Some mothers even send friend requests to everyone in Facebook: your friends, your boyfriends/girlfriends and even their parents, in some cases. Moreover, they also send messages to your friends saying, “Hello, what’s up? and keep sending upon receiving no reply. 

Vidya Rayamaji, a teenager, couldn't stop her embarrassment when all of her friends started recalling similar messages her mother had sent them. Vidhya’s friends added, "Her mother also uploads our photos and shares our videos as well as other posts.” 

Obviously, mobile or mobiles games are not entitled only to younger generations. Learning new things and staying updated with the trend is always important. The point being, though there might be a significant gap between generations and moms might give their children an earful for spending more time on their mobiles, we are not that different from each other. 

Environment, upbringing, our peers and the need of the time changes how and what we do, and that is true for all generations. The generations might be different, but we are also similar at the same time. And, technology might be that one common aspect which brings both the generations together. 
 

moms, are, not,

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